REM trains will withstand city’s winters, planners say
Doubts raised following problems during February testing in Ottawa
Planners of the new $6.3-billion Réseau express métropolitain vowed Friday the new network will be able to withstand the city’s rigorous winters. Doubt has been raised on the capacity for the Alstom Metropolis model to withstand harsh winter conditions, considering the train currently is used only in cities where winters are far less harsh than those of Montreal. Those doubts were raised in part because of problems by Alstom-manufactured trains being tested for use in Ottawa’s new light-rail network. Those trains ran into difficulties during a snowstorm in February. While the 212 Alstom train cars on order for the REM will be built in India, they will be customized to meet Montreal’s unique climate, including double-paned windows and heated door thresholds and floors to ensure doors can open and close in cold weather and snow. The trains will also be tested next winter on the South Shore, and in a cold chamber in Austria. “We’re very confident that the trains we ordered will be able to withstand our winter conditions,” said Mack Tall, the president and chief executive officer for CDPQ Infra, which is managing the project. The trains will have ice scrapers at the contact points where the trains connect to overhead electrical wires, and heated automatic couplers at each end. The trains will have room for wheelchairs, strollers, bicycles and luggage, the planners said in a presentation to the news media on Friday. Each trainset of four cars will be able to accommodate 128 seated passengers and up to eight spaces for passengers in wheelchairs. The REM is to enter into service in phases between 2021 and 2023. When complete, it will link the South Shore to Central Station over the Champlain Bridge, the West Island, Trudeau airport and the current Deux-Montagnes train line.